This invention relates to locking systems, and more particularly to a locking system for a rolling type gate of the kind typically utilized in front of store windows and the like.
In order to provide security for store windows, parking lots, and other enclosed areas, there is typically utilized a rolling type gate which is stored in a fixed upper header and is lowered to provide closure of the protected area. The rolling type gate generally includes a plurality of slats which are hingedly interconnected to each other to permit their rolling up into the header. The rolling type gate has its ends movable within U-shaped channels serving as side guide rails, or tracks, for the rolling type gate.
When the gate is lowered into its closed position, a suitable locking mechanism is required to prevent unauthorized opening of the gate. Typically, tabs can be formed both on the side rails and on an adjacent slat of the rolling type gate, where a hasp of a padlock is inserted through aligned apertures formed in the mating tabs. While the use of such padlocks is somewhat effective, the locks can be jimmied, or cut, using various burglary tools to break open the padlock and permit unauthorized opening of the rolling type gate.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,345,448 describes a more secure type of locking system for such rolling type gates. In this system, an ear extends from the exterior of a guide rail and is received within a bracket having a pin insertable through an aperture formed into each of the opposing walls of the guide rail and through an aligned aperture in the slat positioned between the opposing walls of the guide rail. A specially designed closure lock is then applied onto the ear, and a bolt slidable within the lock assembly is depressed to retain the lock on the ear. A second retaining system is included by terminating the bracket in a barrier wall having a curved edge wall which fits into the curvature of the individual slats of the rolling type gate.
The essential concern of a suitable locking system is one that will prevent unauthorized access by means of burglarizing tools. Accordingly, the lock must be provided with appropriate guard plates to avoid insertion of a chisel, tool, or the like, between various parts of the locking system, whereby the entire lock could be chiseled off the guide rail. Additionally the head portion of the lock should be appropriately protected to avoid the possibility of grasping the head of the lock and completely ripping the lock from the guide rail.